And Then There Were Four: Book One
by cinnamonarabesque
Summary: Amelia Shire is a muggleborn witch born into a magic-hating family. When she was seven years old, she ran away and was raised by a magical couple living alone in the middle of the Lost Forest. They raised her and homeschooled her until she was eleven years old... Join Amelia as she goes to Hogwarts and meets Harry, Ron and Hermione, and let the adventure begin! (not mary-Sue I prom
1. The beginning

**AN: Hello! So this is my first Harry Potter fanfiction story, so I hope you enjoy it. I would definitely love it if you could make suggestions and/or critique my story in the reviews. Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. (I wish I did though, that would be pretty cool)**

_This book is set in the world of the Harry Potter series, and Amelia is the same age as Harry. She is a muggle-born witch born into a magic-hating family. When she was seven, she left that family and ended up with Aisha and Frank Shire, a wizarding couple living alone in the middle of a forest called the Lost Forest. They did not attend Hogwarts, but were both homeschooled. Even so, they have informed Amelia that she may receive a letter accepting her into the school, and that she may go if she wants to. So far they have been homeschooling her, and she has learned some basic spells. When she was nine, she became an animagus, and her form is a small blue butterfly, the wings the color of her eyes. Her raised her and homeschooled her in magic until she reached eleven years old... _

"Now, the spell is called 'Protego'" Aisha said, demonstrating the wand movement with a small flick of her wrist. "It will protect you from harmful spells if you can make it strong enough, with the exception of the unforgivables."

Amelia nodded solemnly, copying her mother's movement. She loved Aisha probably more than anyone. Aisha had been the only loving, motherly figure in Amelia's life. her first mother... well, she didn't like to think about that. She had met Aisha when she was seven, and Aisha and her husband, Frank, had taken her in and treated her as their own child.

Currently, Aisha and Amelia were standing in the training room, where Aisha was carrying out her daily lesson on magic. Today, they were learning the shield charm, Protego.

"Now I want you to try it." Aisha moved to the side of the room just in case the spell went awry, giving Amelia an encouraging smile. Amelia raised her wand and tried to focus her magical energy into her wand.

"Protego!" A thin, almost transparent mist shot out of the tip of her wand, hovering in front of her. Amelia let out a breath and released the spell, surprised at the draw on her energy. The shield had looked awfully feeble, and she knew it wouldn't stand a chance if tested. Trying to hide her disappointment, she turned to face her mother. Aisha, however, looked very pleased.

"That was great for a first try!" She exclaimed. "Most people can't get anything. Do you want to try again or are you too tired?"

Amelia was feeling pretty tired, but she wanted to perfect this.

"I'll try again." She said, squaring her shoulders. Aisha looked a little concerned, picking up on Amelia's slight hesitance, but motioned for her to continue.

"Protego!" Once again, the white mist sprang out of her wand, a little bit more solid looking than the previous time. Amelia smiled in satisfaction.

"Now try to keep it up for as long as you can." Aisha said, moving closer to get a better look. Amelia struggled against the sudden fatigue, and poured her remaining energy into the shield.

"Not too much, Amy!" Her mother warned, calling by her pet name. "You don't want to over do it. Now, I'm going to fire a spell at you, and I want you to block it. Ready? One, two-"

"SQUAWK!"

Amelia started, her magic lashing out instinctively, pouring into the shield charm. Aisha barely had time to throw up a shield before the spell exploded, throwing Amelia back against the wall. She struggled to her feet to see her mother beaming at her.

"That was great!" She exclaimed, pulling out her wand to check her daughter over for injuries. "Just do that minus the exploding part and we're good!"

Amelia laughed and picked up her wand were it had fallen, then turned to see what had made the sudden noise. She almost missed it. On the floor lay a small bundle of feathers, which under closer scrutiny proved to be an owl. Amelia turned it over with a trembling hand, inspecting it for damage. How did the owl know where they lived? As far as she knew, there weren't other families for miles. She and her adoptive parents were alone in the middle of the Lost Forest.

"I... I didn't kill it did I?" Amelia asked, biting her lip. She loved animals, and the thought of hurting one, purposefully or not, was terrible.

Aisha smiled at her daughter's concern before putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, it's only stunned." She pointed her wand at the owl and said, "_Enervate_" The owl immediately jumped to its feet, letting out an indignant squawk. "See?"

Amelia nodded, clearly relieved. "Why are you here, owl?" She asked softly, reaching out to stroke its soft feathers. The owl stuck out its leg importantly, letting the two witches see the letter tied to it. Amelia pulled it out carefully, hardly daring to believe her eyes. "Mom—it's from Hogwarts."

Aisha drew in a sharp breath, her hands shaking as she removed the letter from Amelia's hands, staring at it in disbelief. "Frank!" She called, "Come here..."

They waited in silence for a few moments, before Frank rushed into the room looking a little out of breath. "Is everything okay? What happened? Are you-" He cut off abruptly when he saw the letter in Aisha's hand. "Is that..." he trailed off, obviously having seen the Hogwarts insignia.

"It is." Aisha said, her voice trembling slightly, "The day has finally come." She looked down at Amelia, who stared back at her solemnly. "I've told you about Hogwarts all your life Amelia. I knew you would get a letter eventually. The decision is yours."

The eleven year old nodded thoughtfully, "Can I have some time to think about this?"

Both of her parents nodded and left the room, leaving Amelia to her thoughts. The moment they left, she sighed, dropping her calm façade and rubbing her forehead. She had known for a while that the letter would come, but part of her had hoped it wouldn't. It wasn't that she didn't want to go to Hogwarts, but she didn't want to have to choose between a wonderful magical school and her loving parents. Her parents had done so much for her. They had taught her everything she knew about magic, even helping her become and animagus when she was nine. They had taken her in, a small, broken girl with nowhere to go. She had been seven at the time. Her mind flashed back four years, to the day she met Aisha and Frank, the day her life had changed forever.

_"We have to get rid of her, the devil cannot live in this house any longer." _

_ Amelia winced as her father's - that is, her birth father's - voice cut through the silence. She was crouched on the staircase, eavesdropping on her parent's conversation. It was no secret that her parents hated her. They believed that she was possessed by the devil. Amelia wasn't sure why she had these strange powers, but she was fairly certain that she wasn't possessed by the devil, or at least, not to the best of her knowledge. _

_Ever since she was little, she had had extraordinary powers that would appear when she was upset or angry. Her parents were horrified at the prospect of having an 'unnatural child' and decided that the only way that they, two completely normal parents, had had a strange, abnormal child was that the child was possessed by Satin. _

_Since her powers had begun surfacing, they had called priests to the house, who preformed strange exorcism rituals in an attempt to 'purge her of evil'. They suggested that every time Amelia revealed any sign of unnaturalness, her mother should send her to her closet to pray. They claimed it was the only way to free her from the devil, and her mother happily complied. _

_Amelia hated the closet. She hated enclosed spaces in general, but this closet was pitch black, with spiders that crawled along the wall and brushed against her arms. She would feel the walls closing in on her, and the demons and monsters crawling out of the blackness, and that's when the panic would hit. Her breathing would speed up, and she would imagine someone's hands closing around her neck and dragging her down, down, down...and then she would scream and throw her small body against the locked closet door, but to no avail. Her cries fell on deaf ears. _

_Amelia knew her mother was only trying to help in her own twisted way, but Amelia's mother wasn't quite sane. She was a crazed religious fanatic, believing that only praying could purge the evil within her daughter. _

_It was Amelia's father who had originally convinced his wife of the presence of Satin in their daughter, and though he would try to hide it from Amelia's mother, Amelia could always see him smile when Amelia was forced into her closet. He took pleasure in shoving her in there whenever he could find an excuse. _

_Amelia shuddered as memories washed over her, but she pushed them away, focusing instead on her birth parent's conversation. _

_ "What do you propose we do?" Her mothers voice echoed off the walls, making Amelia shiver at the sudden coldness in it._

_ "We'll have to kill her." Her father replied, and her mother drew in a sharp breath._

_ "Gabe, I don't know..." despite her horrible treatment of Amelia, she still loved her daughter and did everything in her best interest. _

_ "It's for the best." He said, his voice heavy with an emotion Amelia couldn't quite detect._

_ "But...we can't kill her, that would be murder," she said uncertainly. _

_ Gabe opened the cupboard and poured his wife a glass of water. "That monster is not your daughter, she's the Devil's child, and she must be destroyed for the good of all of us!" _

_ "But..." _

Come on Mom, _Amelia thought, _convince him not to! _If anyone could stop her father, it was her mother, and if her mother really loved her, she would stand up for her daughter for once in her life. Amelia was torn out of her thoughts as her father spoke up._

_ "Kelly, do this for me." _

_ "Well...Anything for you." Her mother said with a small sigh, giving in to her husband's demands. "So how will we do this?"_

_ Amelia stood suddenly, her mind reeling. Her own parents were plotting to murder her. She spun around and clambered up the stairs, barely hearing her parents over the blood rushing in her ears. _

Creeeeeeaaaaaaaaaak!

_Amelia stood stock-still, as the conversation suddenly cut off downstairs. She hardly dared to breath, hoping that her parents would pass it off as the house being old. Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her arm. She spun around to see her father staring down at her with an icy smile. _

_ "Nice try, Demon." He said, dragging her back down the stairs. Kelly was waiting at the bottom of the steps, her eyes worried. _

_ "Amelia? How much did you- never mind," she said, shaking her head. She gently pried Gabe's hand off Amelia's, grabbing her daughter by the shoulders. "Go to your closet and pray, sweetie." She said shakily. _

_ "Mom please, don't let him do this! I'm not possessed, I swear!" Amelia begged. Kelly stared at her husband in fear, realizing that Amelia had heard their entire conversation. Gabe's eyes were like chips of ice._

_ "She knows." He said shortly. Grabbing a bible, he thrust it at his wife, staring at Amelia as if she was going to bolt any second. _

_She twisted out of her mother's grip and tried again. "Mom, you love me right?"_

_ Kelly nodded, almost hypnotized, her knuckles white as she gripped the bible._

_ "Then don't do this!" Amelia cried, subconsciously advancing on her mother. "If you really love, me convince him not to kill me!" _

_ Amelia's mother looked uncertain for a moment, looking from her husband to her daughter. _

_ Gabe realized that the conversation was not going as planned. "Kelly, she's using you, trying to get into your head," he said suddenly, pulling the attention back to himself. _

_ Kelly's eyes hardened instantly, and she glared at her daughter._

_ "Mom-"_

_ "Witch!" She screamed, bringing the bible down on Amelia's head. _

_ Amelia fell to the ground, clutching her head in pain, and scrambled away from her parents. Gabe roughly grabbed her arms and threw her into her closet, locking the door behind her. _

_ Amelia slowly sat up, her breath coming in short gasps. Reaching up to feel where her mother had hit her, she felt blood in her hair. Shaking from cold and fear, Amelia pressed her ear against the door in an attempt to hear her parents, but the door was too thick. She sat down hard on the stone floor, and waited in the darkness, before finally falling asleep. _

_ She woke up to her mom shaking her shoulder. "Sweetie, we're going for a walk."_

_ Amelia sat up, immediately alert. "Where's Dad?" She asked, looking past the open closet door and into the rest of the room, which appeared empty. _

_ "Gone." Her mother said shortly, standing up and grabbing a picnic basket from the kitchen counter. _

_ "Gone? But-" _

_ Kelly grabbed her daughter by the arm and dragged her forcefully out of the closet and into the kitchen. "We're going on a picnic!" She said brightly, "Down by the lake." _

_ Amelia blinked in confusion. Her father was gone and her mother wanted to take her on a picnic? Something wasn't right. Still, a part of her mind wanted to believe that Gabe was gone for good, and her mother was taking her on this trip to make it up to her. _It's a trap!_ The other part of her mind said. Amelia decided to ignore both parts and looked up into her mother's pretty blue eyes, questioning. There was something in them that was...Off, but if this really was Kelly's attempt to make it up to her daughter, then Amelia didn't want to mess it up. _What's the worst that can happen?_ Amelia reasoned. "Okay, Mom!" She said, fixing her face into a bright smile. "I've always wanted to go on a picnic with you!" _

_ Her mother's fake, cheery smile wavered for a moment before returning to its original state. "Well come on then, let's go!" _

_ Wordlessly, Amelia followed her mother down the hill to the lakeside, where the water lapped up on the shoreline. The sky was a cloudless blue, and the sun shone brightly. It was unusually warm for September. _

_ Kelly sat down in the grass and began opening the picnic basket, pulling out two sandwiches. "I have Peanut butter and Jelly or Ham and Cheese. Which one do you want?" _

_ Amelia chose The Peanut butter and Jelly one, her favorite. She smiled as she looked out over the lake. Everything had taken a turn for the better. Still smiling, she took a bite from her sandwich - and immediately froze. There was a strange taste to the sandwich, a flavor she had never tasted before, a flavor that certainly wasn't supposed to be in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. _No!_ She thought. _It _is_ a trap! Nononononono... _The strange taste seemed to spread within her, slowly paralyzing her. In a few moments, she was completely paralyzed. Suddenly, she heard a laugh from behind her, a distinctly familiar laugh. Incapable of turning her head, she waited until the person was in front of her. It was her father. _

_ Amelia stared in shock as Kelly stood up to greet her husband, discarding her own sandwich, uneaten. She had probably filled both of them with the poison, just in case. _

_ Amelia's father pulled some rope from the picnic basket, and began tying Amelia's hands and feet together. Unable to make a sound, Amelia simply glared at him. Gabe just laughed as he fastened the ropes tighter, before tying them to a nearby boulder. "You know Amelia, you're lucky. I wanted to burn you alive, but your mother talked me into drowning you instead." _

_ Suddenly the rock and the ropes all made horrible sense. They were going to throw her into the lake. Amelia swallowed. She could barely swim as it was, but tied to a heavy rock it would be impossible, especially without the use of her arms or legs. Her breathing sped up. She tried to open her mouth to scream abuse at her father, but found that she couldn't move a muscle. She made a noise of protest anyway, hoping her father would get the message. _

_ Gabe heard his daughter's sound and smiled viciously. "Do you like my potion? I invented it. You won't be able to move for the next-" he checked his watch, "forty minutes. But that will be long enough." _

_ Amelia's eyes widened in panic as she struggled against the effects of the potion, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't so much as twitch a finger. How had her father made the potion? She shook her head. It just didn't make sense. Her dad was non magical, he shouldn't be able to make potions. _

_ Gabe picked up the boulder that was tied to Amelia, motioning for Kelly to help him. "Grab the girl will you? We'll throw them in at the same time, as far as we can." _

_ Kelly nodded, grabbing Amelia and hefting her up into her arms. Amelia pleaded with her with her eyes, but her mother blatantly ignored her. _

_ Gabe heaved the rock above his head and counted off, "One...Two..._Three_!" Both parents threw their object into the air. Amelia turned her head in mid air and just had time to see her parents, her father's triumphant smile and her mother's relieved look, before she plunged into the water. _

_ The cold hit her first. The day itself might have been warm, but the water was frigid. The icy water seemed to seep under Amelia's skin, freezing her to the bone. She tried to swim, but the potion was still in effect, keeping her from moving. The ropes, still attached to the rock, dragged her farther under with every moment. Panicking, Amelia glanced around desperately, she was was running out of air, but there was nothing around her that could keep her from sinking to the bottom of the lake and staying there - forever. _

_ Suddenly, she hit the bottom of the lake with such force that the air was knocked out of her lungs. Still unable to move, Amelia could only lie there and wait for death to come. _So this is it, then,_ she thought. _No one saw them throw me in, and there's nothing I can do._ She had always wanted to have a birthday party, with lots of other kids. She had wanted to turn eighteen and make her own way in the world without living under her parents. She had wanted to go out into the world and _live_ for once, but here she was, and there was no one to save her, and in that moment, perhaps a bit too late, Amelia realized, _

I have so much to live for._ And in that moment she knew that she couldn't let it end there, that there had to be a way out, because she had her entire future in front of her, and she wasn't going to let it go to waste if she could help it. _

_ She reached deep inside herself, and let her magic explode out. _

_ The potions effects immediately disappeared, and the ropes incinerated. Her lungs screaming for air, Amelia forced herself towards the surface of the lake, the water around her bending to her will, propelling her forward. She exploded out of the lake and landed on the shore, gasping for air, the tattered remains of the rope falling beside her. And with that, darkness overtook her vision, and Amelia knew no more. _

Amelia smiled softly to herself as she recalled what had happened next. Aisha had found her washed up on the shore, having felt the magical blast from before. Somehow, Amelia had ended up on the opposite end of the lake from where she had started, right on the edge of the Lost Forest, where Aisha and Frank lived together. And her new mother had taken her in, and told her that she was a witch, and taught her al that there was to know about magic. _How can I leave them?_ Amelia thought to herself. _After everything they've done for me._ She ran her hand over the letter, tracing her name, Amelia Elizabeth Shire. Opening the letter carefully, she scanned the school supplies list. Some of the books were ones she had read before, but all looked very interesting. As much as she wanted to stay with her parents, she wanted to go to this school. She sat back on her chair with a sigh. She had a big decision in to make.

Aisha Shire pushed her jet-black hair out of her eyes as she leaned back on her chair. She had known the day would come when Amelia would get her Hogwarts letter. She had known that her time with Amelia was limited, but part of her had wished that she could keep Amelia forever. She could hardly remember how life was before Amelia, and couldn't bear to imagine life without her. She had been happy before, yes, she and Frank had been in love - and still were - but she had always felt that something was missing, until Amelia. Her mind flashed back to the day she had found Amelia, the day her life had change forever.

_ It was a little after noon in the Lost Forest, and Aisha was gathering herbs from the Woods around the house. That day she was looking for a special herb for a healing potion she was working on, and had so far had no luck in finding it. Determined to find this ingredient, she had wandered farther towards the lakeside, as the plant generally like moist environments. _

_She was almost about to turn back when she felt it: a small pulse of magic. She spun around, startled, assuming she was being attacked and instinctively throwing up a shield. No spells were fired at her, though, and cautiously, she let her shield drop, sending out her magic to locate the pulse she had felt. _

_She felt it again, a few seconds later, except this time it was much stronger. Starting at a brisk walk that soon turned into a run, she chased the feeling. Although the logical part of her brain told her that running _towards_ the mysterious magic feeling was a bad idea, she knew that she had to find whatever was creating this at all costs. Something inside her wanted it, and badly. _

_Suddenly, she felt the magic again, except not a pulse this time, but something much stronger, more like an explosion. The water from the lake exploded upwards, revealing a small girl who stumbled onto the shore before collapsing on the sand. Aisha rushed forwards to catch her, and lowered her gently to the ground. _

_The girl was small and slim, unhealthily so, as if she hadn't been fed nearly enough. She had long light blond hair that looked as if it hadn't been cut in years, and reached well below her waist. Her skin was pale, her lips tinged slightly blue from lack of oxygen. How long had she been underwater? _

_Aisha pulled out her wand, pointing at the unconscious girl. "Enervate!" She whispered, and was relieved when she felt the girl stir in her arms. _

_ The girl's eyes fluttered open, a shocking bright blue, and blinked questioningly at her. "Where am I?" She murmured. She looked so confused and lost, and Aisha's heart immediately went out to her. _

_ "You're in the Lost Forest, on the edge of the Great Lake." She replied, pushing the girl's hair out of her face. "I found you here when you exploded out of the water."_

_ The girl's eyes widened as she seemed to recall what had happened. A mildly panicked expression crossed her face. _

_ "Are you lost?" Aisha asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. "What happened to you? Where did you come from? Where are your parents? Would you like me to help you find them?"_

_ "No!" The girl cried suddenly, her eyes widened in fear. "Don't get my parents, please!" _

_ Aisha was surprised and disturbed by the girl's reaction. "Why don't you tell me what happened." She said in a soothing voice. _

_ The girl stared up at her, trembling, as if deciding whether she could trust this stranger. Eventually, she seemed to come to a decision. "My - my parents, they tried to drown me. They tied my hands and feet together and threw me in the lake." Her lower lip trembled as tears came to her eyes. The shock of what had just happened seemed to be wearing off, and reality was setting in. _

_ Aisha held the girl close to her and let her cry, silently fuming over what had happened. How could anyone harm this sweet little girl in her arms? She briefly considered going after these monsters, but quickly discarded the idea. The girl was more important and probably needed medical attention. A sudden thought struck her. This girl had nowhere to go... She was completely alone, and even without that, Aisha would have been reluctant to leave her. She felt complete with this girl. "What's your name?" She asked._

_"Amelia," the girl answered, wiping the tears off her face._

_"I know this is going to sound sudden, but would you like to come back to my home with me?" She asked carefully, not wanting to scare the girl away. "You could live with my husband and I-" _

_"Yes!" Amelia said excitedly, cutting her off. She threw her arms around the woman she had met such a short time ago and laughed._

_ Aisha smiled at her enthusiasm, and carried her home. _

Aisha laughed quietly as she thought back their first meeting. Amelia had been so small and adorable; Frank had fallen in love with her instantaneously. The thought of Amelia leaving her was sad, certainly, but she knew that Amelia's happiness was more important than her own. Hogwarts would be good for her. She was pulled out of her thoughts by a movement by the door. She looked up to see Amelia in the doorway, shifting her feet.

"Have you made your decision?" Aisha asked, her trepidation growing slightly. She wasn't sure what she wanted Amelia to say. Part of her wanted Amelia to go to Hogwarts and meet other kids her age, but the other part want her to stay so she could keep Amelia all to herself.

"I have." Amelia said, wringing her hands, "I've decided I would like to go." She looked at her mother apprehensively, trying to gauge her reaction. To her immense surprise, her mother actually looked happy.

Sensing her confusion, Aisha smiled. "It's time for you to go out and make your own way in the world. Make friends, learn magic that I can't teach you." She pulled Amelia into a hug, and Amelia hugged her mother tightly.

Aisha pulled the Hogwarts letter out of Amelia's hands and looked over the school supplies list. "Looks like we need to get to Diagon alley."

Amelia smiled to herself. _Hogwarts, here I come!_

**Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Please review!**


	2. Diagon Alley

**Hello! I just wanted to thank everyone who read and followed my first chapter, and a special thank you to The Willow Maiden for reviewing. I'm sorry the wait was so long, but I was waiting for some beta readers I had emailed in hopes of them beta reading my story to reply, but they never did. :( If you could point out any errors I will change them. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. **

Book 1, Chapter 2: Diagon Alley

Amelia woke early the next morning, her excitement building before she even opened her eyes. Today, she and her mother would be going to Diagon Alley. Amelia had been there a few times with her mother to pick up potions ingredients or supplies, but today was different. Today she would be getting her school supplies!

Hogwarts still felt like a strange dream to Amelia. She had heard about it all her life, but actually going there was a different matter. Still, it would mean leaving her parents, a fact that Amelia still tried to avoid thinking about.

As fun as Hogwarts sounded, Amelia would be alone in a vast group of other children, without a friend in the world. She had never had a friend her age, only smiled at some kids in her few trips to Diagon Alley. Since Amelia and her parents lived in the middle of a forest, they really didn't get out much.

Amelia sighed and stared out the window of her large bedroom. She could see the sunlight filtering through the thick canopy of trees, and the various animals scampering along the forest floor. Gently pulling herself out of bed, she got changed quietly and headed downstairs, where her mother was already waiting.

"We leave in ten minutes." She said happily, motioning to Amelia's breakfast, already on the table. She was currently going through her various drawers, looking for the little purse she always brought with her. "We should probably stop by Gringotts while we're there," she murmured to herself, "Oh! And maybe that lovely little tea shop, too..."

Frank was siting in the armchair by the fire, absorbed in a novel. His messy brown hair stuck up in places, and his brown robes were a bit wrinkled, but to Amelia he looked as he always did. He put his book down to greet his daughter, placing it on the mantle and taking off his reading glasses. "There's my girl!" He exclaimed, pulling her into a warm hug. "You're so grown up now, " he sighed, pulling back to look a her thoughtfully, "Who would have thought that my little Amelia would grow up so fast?"

"I'm only eleven," Amelia laughed, "That's hardly grown up." Still, she felt a lot older after getting her letter. She would be going to boarding school and living away from home for nine months. Well, except for vacations, but it was still a pretty big deal.

Frank guided her to the table and sat her down for her breakfast, sitting across from her.

Amelia stirred her food around her plate, almost too excited to eat, but managed to eat a few mouthfuls before jumping up to help her mother search for her purse.

"Found it!" Aisha said suddenly, holding up the small black bag triumphantly. It was magically expanded on the inside to be a lot bigger than it looked, and would easily fit all of Amelia's school supplies. "Ready to go?"

Amelia smiled and nodded, almost jumping up and down with barely concealed excitement.

Aisha hugged her husband before making her way over to the fireplace. Normally, she and Amelia would floo over to Diagon Alley. Today however, she was irritated to discover that the dish that usually held the floo powder was empty. Silently cursing herself for not buying more when she had run out, she turned back to Amelia with an apologetic smile.

Amelia eyed her mother warily, having become quite familiar with that expression. "Oh no...What happened?"

"Well..." Aisha said, "We may have run out of floo powder..."

"What?" Amelia asked, shocked. "But then how will we get to Diagon Alley without floo powder? And how will we get more floo powder if we can't floo to Diagon Alley to get some?" She sat down heavily on the armchair her father had previously occupied, and felt her mother sit down beside her and put her arm around her. Amelia couldn't believe it. Just when they were finally going to go to pick up her school supplies, something had to go wrong.

"There's more than one way to get to Diagon Alley, you know." Aisha said softly.

Amelia looked up at her mother, slightly confused. She had never heard of another way into Diagon Alley. "There is?"

Aisha nodded, "Yes, it's through a wall behind a magical bar in the muggle world. I'm actually surprised I haven't taken you by that way before."

"Where is the bar?" Amelia asked, her spirits lightening considerably. They would still be able to go to Diagon Alley.

"Hmm..." Aisha said thoughtfully, thinking back to the last time she had gone that way. "I'm pretty sure it's in London."

"London?" Amelia exclaimed. "But how will we ever get to London?"

The Lost Forest wasn't very close to London. In fact, it wasn't very close to anything. The Shires lived in the middle of nowhere.

Aisha picked up her purse and gently prodded Amelia to the door. "It will be sort of like an adventure!" She said, waving goodbye to her husband.

The two witches walked out the door and into the forest beyond. Although the sun was shining brightly, the ground was still damp from a storm earlier that week, meaning there were a lot more insects out than normal. Aisha cast a simple spell to repel them, then another spell to keep their robes from getting dirty.

A few minutes later, Amelia asked, "We're not going to walk all the way to London, are we?"

The raven-haired woman laughed and shook her head. "No, we'll be taking the knight bus."

"The night bus?" Amelia asked curiously. She had never heard of it before. She sighed, even after four years with Aisha and Frank, there was still so much that she didn't know. Maybe she would learn more about this mysterious world she was a part of at Hogwarts.

"Yes," Aisha said, "Except it doesn't come this far out into the forest. We have to get in range." With that, she sped up her pace to a hurried walk.

Amelia followed her without further question, going deeper into the forest.

Suddenly, Aisha cam to an abrupt stop, "We're in range now," She looked at where Amelia was standing, "And you might want to step back a bit."

Amelia did as she was told, and watched, fascinated, as her mother pulled her wand out of her pocket and held it out as if pointing it at something across the road.

Almost immediately, there was a deafening BANG as a huge pair of headlights came swerving around the corner, weaving though the trees so fast it seemed impossible.

Amelia cried out and jumped backwards, tripping over herself and falling to the ground.

Aisha made her way back to her and helped her to her feet. "Sorry," she said apologetically, "I should have warned you. It can be quite shocking the first time."

Amelia brushed off her dark blue robes and took in the massive bus. It was three stories, violently purple, and had the _The Knight Bus_ spelled out in gold letters over the windshield.

She stared as a conductor wearing a purple uniform that matched the bus jumped out and, with a a small bow to the two witches, said proudly, "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand, step onboard, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this evening." He looked around. "Wow, you two really are stranded, aren't you? How did you get out here?"

"We live here," Amelia offered. At his disbelieving expression, she hastily continued, "Well, not _here_ here, but a little ways from here."

Stan was a boy who couldn't be older than seventeen, with ears that stuck out and lots of pimples. He looked quite proud to be conduction the Knight Bus.

He nodded at Amelia's answer. "Come aboard, my friends, come aboard!"

A bit bewildered, Amelia followed her mother and the boy aboard the bus.

Inside, there were a few other people sitting in many beds lined up along the walls of the bus. Amelia looked around, but she could see no seats. She sent a questioning glance at her mother, who waved her wand in a complicated movement. Two comfortable-looking dark blue chairs appeared stuck to the wall. Attached to them were many heavy-duty seatbelts.

At Amelia's bemused look, she said, "Trust me, you'll need them."

Amelia nodded and sat down, trying to make sense of all the different buckles.

"We'd like to go to The Leaky Cauldron." Aisha said briskly, handing Stan a few coins. Turning back to see see Amelia, she sighed in exasperation. She waved her wand, and all of the buckles and straps righted themselves, tying around Amelia. She did the same to herself as Stan went up to the front of the bus to tell the driver where to go.

"Honestly Amelia, are you a witch or not? The spell itself is simple."

"I forgot that there was a spell for that, but I would have remembered eventually." Amelia said, trying not to let the hurt show on her face at the slight jab, although ineffectively. Her mother noticed this and hugged her as best as she could with all of the seatbelts.

"I'm sorry, I forget sometimes that you're only eleven. You act so much older." The two of them sat for a moment in comfortable silence, before Amelia's mother suddenly sat up, eyes alert. "Brace yourself!"

"What-"

There was another loud bang, and Amelia would have been thrown into the wall of the bus had she not been tied down by the many seatbelts Aisha had conjured. The beds all skidded across the floor, and people's hot chocolate splashed onto the floor, which Amelia noticed was already strewn with items.

"Thanks Mom!" She gasped out, still recovering from the sudden acceleration.

Aisha beamed at her, "Don't you just love the Knight bus? I always loved it. Of course, on my first trip I hadn't thought to conjure any seatbelts, and, well, lets just say that I had a bit of a rough ride." She giggled at Amelia's curious look before launching into the story of her first time on the Knight bus.

Amelia wondered briefly why the muggles didn't see, hear, or get hit by the bus before realizing that the answer was what it always was – magic. She looked out the window and saw the scenery passing by at a nauseating rate. They were going really fast.

There was a loud bang as the bus came to an abrupt halt, and Amelia was thrown against her restraints, once again grateful for them.

"And here we are! The Leaky Cauldron!" Stan called back to them, opening up the doors with an exaggerated flourish. "I hope you enjoyed your ride on The Knight Bus!"

Amelia giggled as she followed her mother off the bus. Stan was quite an interesting character. She hoped this wouldn't be her last trip on the Knight Bus.

Together she and her mother entered the small, grubby pub. There were a few people in the bar, some men drinking firewhisky in the corner, but other than that, the bar was quiet. The men looked up as the two witches passed, and one of them wrinkled his nose,

"Foreigners."

Amelia was about to protest, but Aisha shook her head almost imperceptibly. It would not do to argue with them. She walked up to the bartender, straightening her posture.

"How can I help you ma'am?" He asked, eyeing them as if trying to remember if he'd seen them before.

Aisha smiled kindly, "We'd like to get into Diagon Alley, but I'm afraid I forgotten which bricks to tap."

The bartender rushed out from behind the bar and started towards the back of the bar, gesturing for them to follow.

"I'm Tom, by the way. I'm afraid I can't recall your name, have you been here before?"

"It's been a while." Aisha said, "I normally floo in." She looked thoughtful, "hmmm… I think the last time I came this way was a few years ago when I was picking up some potions ingredients. I had always wanted to go this way, and it seemed like the perfect time."

"Best way there is!" Tom said proudly, "You can't say you've had the full 'Diagon Alley experience' without going through old Tom's bar!"

The group came to a stop in front of a brick wall lined with a few trashcans. Amelia furrowed her eyebrows. Was this the entrance? It didn't look like much, certainly not what Tom the bartender was raving about. As she thought this, Tom brought out his wand and tapped it on one of the bricks.

"Three up, two across!" He said, "Now stand back!"

Amelia did as she was told, and watched in amazement as the bricks shifted before her eyes, creating a large archway where a solid wall had once been.

Aisha glanced back at Amelia and giggled at her slack-jawed expression. "Amazing, isn't it? That's some serious charm work. If you study hard at Hogwarts, maybe you'll be able to do that too someday."

"Wow!" Amelia breathed, and she stared in awe as she stepped into Diagon Alley. She had been to Diagon Alley before, of course, but seeing after going through the arch was like seeing it for the first time all over again.

"You've been here a few times, so you should be able to find the right shops to get your school supplies." Aisha said, pulling out the list and handing it to her. "All the shops you need are down this street. I've got to get some floo powder and stop by Gringotts, but I'll meet you outside Ollivander's around four. Is that okay?"

Amelia nodded, a little distracted by the sheer number of people swarming the Alley. Having grown up without really meeting many people, she always felt uncomfortable in large crowds. However, her slight fear was overpowered by her excitement. She was finally getting her school supplies!

Looking over the list, she crossed out the things she already had. All the clothing, though she would have to label them, a wand, a cauldron, and the glass phials. She had always wanted an owl, though. Maybe her mother would let her get one so that they could keep in touch over the school year.

She decided to buy her books first, and headed over to Flourish and Bolts. Flourish and Bolts was the main bookstore in Diagon Alley and was sure to carry the books she needed. Maybe she would even meet other kids going to Hogwarts. It would be good for her to meet some other students before the year started so that she wouldn't be completely alone on her first day.

She looked around to the hundreds of people milling about the road, and her eyes focused on a small girl holding a flower in her hand. The petals were opening and closing of their own accord, and the girl was laughing. Amelia closed her eyes as painful memories washed over her.

_A six-year-old Amelia sat in the grass, holding the large blue flower in the palm of her hand. The petals were dancing around, opening and closing almost as if they were waving at her. She giggled happily, delighted at this new trick she had learned. _

_"What do you think you're doing?" A hand grabbed her arm, and Amelia jumped, the flower falling out of her hand, Limp once more. _

_"I - nothing, Daddy!" She shrunk back as her father towered over her, huge and menacing. _

_"What's she done this time?" Her mother sighed, poking her head outside the kitchen window to observe whatever was happening between her husband and her daughter._

_"She was displaying her unnaturalness in the backyard for the world to see! You're coming with me, girl." _

Amelia shut the memories out, blinking back tears. Still lost in thought, she didn't see the other girl until she crashed into her. The girl's new books flew out of her hands and crashed to the floor, along with her school supplies list.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, bending down to gather her things up.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Amelia cried, reaching for her school supplies list before it could blow away. She straightened up to get a better look at the girl. She had bushy brown hair and slightly bucked teeth, with an eager expression on her face. Amelia thought she was quite pretty.

"Oh, it's fine…" The girl said. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"No, no, it's all my fault!" Amelia insisted, "I was lost in thought. I really should have been more careful. Are you okay?"

The girl brushed off her robes, "Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way."

"Amelia. Are you going to Hogwarts as well?"

Hermione nodded, looking animated. "Yes, I am! I was ever so excited when I got my letter. My parents aren't wizards, you see, so after we realized it wasn't a joke we immediately came to get my school supplies. A professor came to my house to tell me, and now I'm here, and isn't it amazing? Diagon Alley is so…. so… Magical! I've just bought my books…."

Amelia nodded along with her, looking lost. Hermione could certainly talk for a long time, but Amelia liked her for that. Being a bit introverted, she was drawn to people who could fill the silence.

"… I do hope it won't be too difficult to catch up to the kids from wizarding families, because I haven't learned any magic yet. I want to learn magic! I'm going to read all of my books as soon as I get home." She paused, taking in Amelia's slightly dazed expression. "Are your parents wizards? Do you know any magic?"

Amelia handed her the last book, "My birth parents are muggles, but I was raised by a wizarding family. They've taught me some magic, yes, but nothing beyond first year stuff. It's much harder than it looks." She stopped as Hermione stared at her with wide eyes.

"Do you think you could teach me?" She asked hopefully, "Maybe we could sit on the train together!" She seemed to catch herself, "If you want to, that is, you don't have to-"

"Of course I want to!" Amelia couldn't believe that she had all ready made a friend, and she hadn't even gotten to school yet. This was a great start. She laughed and hugged this new girl, "I'll wait for you by the platform."

Hermione looked delighted. "Yes, I'll meet you there! I have to go now," she said apologetically, stepping back.

"Alright, well goodbye then," Amelia said.

"Goodbye!" Hermione started to walk away, casting one glance back at Amelia, a new bounce to her step. And there began a friendship that would last for a lifetime.

Amelia smiled to herself as she walked into the bookstore. The day was really going quite well. She skimmed the titles on the shelves, picking out the ones she needed, which were conveniently in the same section. A few other books caught her eye, one on plants and various magical animals and another on healing. Amelia hummed to herself as she picked up the healing book and read the back cover. It looked interesting, so see flipped through the first few pages, sliding down to seat herself on the floor.

"Interested in healing, are you?"

Amelia looked up to see a woman with grey hair and blue eyes wearing a nursing uniform staring down at her.

"Yes, ma'am." She replied, as her mother had told her to address all adult strangers as sir or ma'am. "It looks very interesting, and I would love to study healing when I get to Hogwarts. Do you know if they offer it as a class?"

The woman looked at her kindly, "No, but you would be welcome to study with me when you come." She said, "Allow me to introduce myself: I am Madam Poppy Pomfrey, resident Healer at Hogwarts."

"Oh, I'd love to!" Amelia said excitedly. She had been interested in healing since she was little, and now she would finally have a chance to learn it. It was a dream come true.

Madam Pomfrey smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. "Well then it's settled. Come to the hospital wing at the end of your second day of term, and I will show you the ropes. It's not often that I get a student so interested in healing from first year. What's your name?"

"Amelia, ma'am, Amelia Shire."

"Alright, then, I will see you when school starts. And I would buy that book if I were you, it's very good," She added, before turning to walk towards the desk to pay for her books.

Amelia stared after her in wonder, even more excited for school than before, if that was even possible. Suddenly she had so much more to look forward to than she had originally thought.

"I trust you found your way around alright?" Aisha asked when they met up by Ollivander's.

Amelia nodded excitedly, telling her mother all about her time buying school supplies.

"And then I met this girl named Hermione Granger, who's going to Hogwarts as well," Amelia continued, "And I met the healer from Hogwarts and she said that she would teach me healing!"

"That's wonderful, Amelia!" Aisha exclaimed, but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

Amelia frowned. Wasn't her mother happy for her? It wasn't like her to be insincere when she spoke to Amelia. If something were wrong, she would tell her, and that was that, so why would did she look so upset?

"Mom? What's wrong?" She asked, concern leaking into her voice.

Aisha smiled slightly as she realized that Amelia knew her too well, and she knew that hiding anything from her wouldn't work and would only serve to upset her daughter.

"Oh, Amy, " she sighed, "It's just that you've grown up so fast, and as proud as I am, I'm so sad to see you leave me. I've grown used to seeing you every day." Her eyes grew slightly misty as she imagined life without Amelia. Amelia had become a constant in her life, and the thought of her leaving, even temporarily, was upsetting to say the least.

"Oh, Mom." Amelia said, hugging her mother around the middle. Aisha hugged her back warmly.

"It'll be very quiet, that's for sure. Now come on, we have to get your wand."

Amelia stopped, frowning in confusion. "But mom, I already have a wand." She had had her wand since she was eight, and it served her perfectly well. She realized that that was why her mother had wanted to meet her outside of the wand shop, and was surprised that it had escaped her notice for so long.

"Yes, you have my old second wand, but I gave that to you." She explained, "In order for a wand to work properly, the wand must choose the wizard."

The wand chooses the wizard? Amelia was quite confused. "But I've used my wand for years, and I've been able to cast spells with it and everything."

"Yes," Aisha replied, "But it wasn't easy, was it?"

Amelia shook her head.

"A wand that chose you would work much better, and spells will come easier to you. Now come on, your father is preparing dinner and he doesn't want to eat without us. Although," she added, "Considering your father's cooking, maybe it would be best if we missed this dinner."

Amelia giggled before remembering something he had wanted to ask Aisha, "Mom, can I get an owl? I would be able to communicate with you while I'm at school."

"Actually," Aisha said, "I bought these." She pulled two mirrors out of her bag, showing them to her. "They're very rare. Just look into one of them and say: Aisha, and mine will ring, just like a muggle telephone. Owls can be intercepted or incapacitated. These are much more secure."

"Cool!" Amelia exclaimed as she took one of the mirrors. "Aisha!"

Immediately, the other mirror made a shrill ringing sound, which Aisha shut off quickly.

"I wonder if there's a way to change that noise," She muttered as she took the mirror back from Amelia. "Alright, enough play, let's go."

Amelia followed her mother into the gloomy wand shop. A sign above the door said that Ollivander's had been around since 382 B.C.

Inside, there was an old man with big, pale eyes sitting behind his desk. He looked up as they came in and rushed over to them.

"Aisha Shire! It has certainly been awhile, yet I remember you getting your first wand as if it were yesterday: Eleven and a half inches long, oak, with a core of unicorn hair, wasn't it? If I recall, you didn't attend Hogwarts." He suddenly noticed Amelia, who barely came up to his elbow. "Ah, and who is this?"

"Amelia Shire, sir." She answered.

"And which hand is your wand arm?" He had pulled out a small measuring tape and had charmed to measure her.

"I'm right-handed."

"Right. Now hold out your arm – good."

The measuring tape floated over to her and began to take the measurement of her forearm, the width of her wrist, and everything else. She watched him as he made his way around his shop, pulling several possible wands off the shelf, muttering to himself. Eventually, he came back to her with around ten boxes. Pulling out the first wand, he handed it to her.

"Try this one. Eleven inches, holly and phoenix feather, nice and supple."

Amelia took it from him and tried the shield charm Aisha had been trying to teach her a few days ago. Instead of creating a shield, however, the wand gave a small shudder and grew burning hot in her hand, causing her to drop it in pain.

"Oh, that one really doesn't like you." Ollivander said, and, seeing her scared expression, he added, "Don't worry, some wand have had even more violent reactions to witches and wizards. Why, I had a witch a few years ago who exploded half of my wall, and then went on to knock over most of the shelves. Here, try this one. Cherry tree and dragon heart string, seven inches, bendy."

A bit relieved, but still apprehensive, Amelia took the proffered wand. Immediately she knew that it wasn't for her, and Ollivander seemed to sense it too because he quickly snatched it out of her hand.

"Not that one, no, _definitely_ not that one. Hmm… He searched through his stack again and pulled out a new wand. "Let's see. Here, pine and unicorn hair, ten inches, good for Defense and Charms. Rather swishy."

As soon as Amelia picked it up, a sudden rush of warmth filled her. The wand felt _right_ to her. Waving it through the air like she knew what she was doing – which she definitely did _not_ – she brought the wand swishing through the air. A shower of silver and white sparks flew from the tip, sparkling as they hit the floor and winking into nothingness.

Ollivander smiled and gently pulled the wand from her, placing in its box and handing the box back to her.

"Interesting colors, yes, very interesting." Ollivander mused. He seemed lost in thought, and Amelia was broken from her excitement at getting her wand by his voice.

"What do you mean?" Had she done something wrong?

Ollivander turned to her, and with an odd expression, he spoke, "Generally, when a wand shoots sparks instead of doing something else, the colors are very important for your future, and if interpreted right, can even be used to predict your destiny. Usually, it's the colors of whatever house at Hogwarts that you're destined for. I don't think I've ever seen white and silver before, though." He shook his head, "one thing's for certain, though, you'll have an interesting life."

Amelia knew all about the different Hogwarts houses, and their colors, but she had not known that your wand would shoot the colors of your house. What was the point of the hat, then? Then again, Ollivander had said that the wand didn't necessarily always shoot sparks, so maybe they did need the hat after all. However, she was confused as to why her wand hadn't made sparks the color of her house like it was supposed to. And why white and silver? That didn't make any sense to her. What was white and silver? Flowers? Snow? Metal? Whatever it meant, it would probably be very important. She would have to be on the look out for anything silver or white.

Aisha gently guided Amelia out of the store, a troubled expression on her face.

"Silver and white?" She murmured under her breath, trying to figure out what it could possibly mean.

_What if it's something bad?_ Part of her mind fretted, _What if she's destined for something terrible and I couldn't stop it because I couldn't figure out what silver and white was in time?_ She tore herself out of her thoughts as she took in Amelia's equally perturbed expression. Right now, Amelia needed her to explain what was going on, and Aisha couldn't do that if she didn't know herself, or was panicking too much to try to work it out. She felt as if she had failed in some way as a mother. Still, she forced herself to smile warmly down at her troubled daughter.

"Well that was awfully ominous, wasn't it?"

Amelia nodded in agreement. "Can we get ice cream now? I need something to cheer me up."

Taking her hand, Aisha led her down the crowded street. "Of course. I think I need a little sugar, too. Maybe we can even stop by the sweet's store as well."

Immediately happier, Amelia followed her mother to the ice cream shop, a merry smile on her face that was still dampened slightly by her worry.

"How was it?" Frank asked cheerily as Amelia and Aisha stepped out of the fireplace with their new bag of floo powder.

"Oh, it was great!" Amelia exclaimed, "I met a nice girl named Hermione and the Hogwarts healer and she said she would teach me healing and I got a wand and all my school supplies and the night bus was really fun!" She said, all in one breath.

Frank laughed at her enthusiasm and picked her up to spin her around.

"You should put your school supplies upstairs now, Amelia, maybe even get started on those books." Aisha said with a smile, handing her several bags.

Amelia eagerly grabbed them and ran upstairs to her room.

Frank watched her go before turning to Aisha, his expression serious. "Alright, what's wrong?"

Aisha sighed heavily before sitting down on one of the kitchen stools. Her husband knew her too well. She explained what had happened in Ollivander's wand shop.

"Oh Frank, what if she's destined for something horrible?" She said, voicing her thoughts from earlier.

Her husband wrapped an arm around her, "Only time will tell, but in the mean time, don't worry about it. Fate is fate, and there's nothing we can do about it. Our Amelia is a strong girl, don't you worry about her." He smiled at his wife and pulled her into a hug before she could see the worry in his eyes.

**Thank you for making it all the way to the end! A review will make my day. I'm serious. If you do review, I will go to your page and read your stories if you have any, and I'll review some of those. In any case, if you see any errors, I will fix them. **


	3. The Hogwarts Express

**So here's chapter three! Sorry it took so long. I've been busy and then fan fiction had this glitch… anyway, I hope you enjoy Amelia's trip on the Hogwarts Express! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize **

Book 1 Chapter 3

Amelia fruitlessly tried to straighten her shirt as she walked nervously down to platform Nine and Three Quarters. Her wand was tucked into her sleeve, secured by a small case that strapped onto her arm for easy access. Despite already having heard a lot about Hogwarts and its people, Amelia was irrationally worried about what would happen when she got to Hogwarts. What if she got sorted into Ravenclaw and wasn't smart enough? Or worse, Slytherin, and the other kids hated her because she was muggle-born?

She didn't fit into any of the Hogwarts houses, really. She was about average in intellect, not very brave, not cunning or ambitious, and she didn't want to go to Hufflepuff (not that she didn't like the house, but it did sound rather dull).

And it wasn't like she was a diamond in the looks department. Since she was seven, her blond hair had darkened into a dull brown, and she was still unhealthily skinny. Her eyes, her mother told her, still shone bright blue against her pale face, but as Aisha was her mother, she was kind of required to say that.

As they approached the platform, Amelia stopped. "Mom, I told Hermione I'd wait for her here."

"Alright then, Amy." Aisha said, handing Amelia her trunk.

Amelia's eyes grew a bit misty. "I guess this is goodbye, then." She said, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. Suddenly, she ran up to her mother and hugged her as tightly as she could. "I'll miss you, mom."

Aisha smiled softly. "I'll see you Christmas break."

With that, they broke apart, leaving Amelia feeling terrible for leaving her mother. "Mom-"

"Amelia!"

She turned to see Hermione running towards her, her parents trailing behind her.

"Hi Hermione!" Amelia exclaimed, running forwards to meet her.

"Hi! Is that your mom?"

Aisha nodded in affirmation.

"Cool! You wouldn't happen to know how to get on the platform by any chance, would you?"

"I do," She replied, "and if we don't hurry, we'll be late!" True, they still had twenty minutes, but neither Amelia nor Hermione felt like missing the train.

Hermione's parents followed behind the two as Amelia showed Hermione how the platform worked.

She stuck her hand through the barrier to show Hermione how to get through. "Most people think you have to run through the barrier, but it will work either way."

Hermione tried the same thing and marveled at the supposedly solid brick wall. "But what if a muggle decides to lean on the barrier or something like that? Wouldn't they find themselves on platform Nine and Three Quarters?"

Amelia just shrugged. She supposed that the wizards had come up with some way to fix that, but she certainly didn't know how.

The group walked through the barrier and stepped onto the platform. Inside sat a large, scarlet steam engine with several cars. Families milled about the platform saying goodbye to their children and helping them load their bags onto the train.

"Do you need help getting your bag on the train?" Aisha asked uncertainly. Amelia looked up at the strained tone in her voice and cursed herself for forgetting that Aisha was never very comfortable in large crowds.

Amelia smiled softly at her, "It's okay Mom, you can go. Dad's probably worried already."

Aisha gave her one long hug before turning and briskly walking off the platform to where she could safely apparate.

Meanwhile, Hermione had already bid her parents goodbye and was now in the process of dragging her bag towards the train.

Amelia hurried to catch up with her, "Ditching me already?" she teased.

Hermione's face turned bright red. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to leave you alone, I just figured you needed some time alone with your mom. She looked pretty uncomfortable."

They reached the train as Hermione apologized profusely, not wanting to lose her new best friend already.

"I really didn't mean to leave you alone! I thought you wanted me to leave, and I didn't want to impose on you or your mom or be impolite. I'm really sorry! Can we still be friends?"

Amelia laughed at Hermione's honestly nervous expression. "Of course, Hermione! We can be friends forever, if you like."

Hermione nodded enthusiastically before stepping onto the train. "I'd like that. I didn't have many friends in primary school because I was smarter than the other kids and they didn't like it. I suppose I liked books better anyway." She shrugged as they searched for an empty compartment. They passed a boy with shocking red hair telling asking the boy inside - a boy who Amelia recognized immediately as Harry Potter from the descriptions of him she'd read in some books - if he could sit there.

"Everywhere else is full." He said, trying to sound as if he didn't just want to sit there because Harry Potter was there.

Amelia snorted at his comment as she saw that many of the compartments behind them were completely empty. She and Hermione chose one and settled down.

"I wonder why he lied to that boy." Hermione said thoughtfully as she pushed her bag onto the rack above them, with Amelia helping.

"That boy was Harry Potter. He probably just wanted an excuse to sit with him."

Hermione's eyes lit up, "Was he really? Oh, I've read all about him! It would be so nice to meet him in person!"

Amelia hesitated before breaking it to Hermione, "You know those books are probably fiction, right?"

Hermione looked scandalized at the thought of her precious books being wrong. "But-"

"Hermione," Amelia interrupted, "Three people witnessed what happened that night, and two of them are dead. The only survivor is on this train, and I don't think he gave out any interviews at the age of one, let alone remembers anything."

Hermione paused, as if barely processing the information. "I suppose you're right... Anyway," She quickly changed the topic, to think about it later. "Have you learned lots about magic from your parents? You told me they had taught you some first year stuff..."

Amelia nodded, "Mostly first year stuff, yes, but a few...other things."

She almost laughed at Hermione's intrigued expression.

"What other things?"

Amelia paused. She didn't want to try to outshine her new best friend, but Hermione looked so openly curious that she couldn't resist. "Do you know what an animagus is?"

"Oh, yes!" Hermione exclaimed, proud to know something. "They're people who train to be able to transform into an animal. They don't get to choose the animal, of course, but it almost always represents them in some way. Usually, the with or wizard will carry some of their appearance with them into their animal form, usually the outline of their glasses or the color of their hair or something like that."

"Wow, you're good at this!" Amelia said, genuinely impressed. "Even I didn't know that much"

Hermione blushed in pride.

"So, about animaguses..."

Hermione's eyes widened as she came to a conclusion. "You're an animagus?" She half whispered, her excitement clearly showing. At Amelia's nod, she gasped in delight, "Could you, can you, would you be able to-?"

"Transform?" Amelia finished with a grin.

Hermione nodded breathlessly.

Amelia took a deep breath and focused. There was a small surge of magic before a small blue butterfly sat in her place on her seat. The color of the wings matched her eyes, but that was where the similarities ended.

Hermione stared in awe at the transformed witch, who laughed and transformed back.

"That was Amazing!" Hermione cried, bouncing up and down in her chair.

Amelia grinned, embarrassed, "Thanks. It took me forever to do. First hours and hours of meditation and then tons of magical training. It took me twice as long as my mother. Don't worry, I'm certified." She added. "Anyway," She changed the subject, a little embarrassed at all the attention she was getting. "you really know a lot about animaguses, and that's not first year stuff, either. That's pretty impressive. I mean, I've read through my books, but my memory is pretty terrible."

"Oh, I've read all of the first year books, and the second year books, and the third year, and a bunch of other books too! I only hope it will be enough." She stopped when she saw Amelia looking at her incredulously.

"Hermione, if you're not in Ravenclaw, I'll eat my head off."

"Actually, I was hoping to be in Gryffindor." Hermione replied. "I've read very detailed descriptions of the four houses in _Hogwarts: a History_, and I think that the Ravenclaws seem very book smart and not much fun. But Gryffindor, on the other hand, well, it seems amazing. Did you know that Albus Dumbledore was in Gryffindor?"

"I suppose you're right..." Amelia said. It was no secret to her or her family that with Dumbledore as the headmaster, Gryffindor was now seen as the amazing house, and Slytherin, for lack of a better word, was the evil house. Seeing Hermione , a muggleborn, swayed by these prejudices troubled her. However, before she could comment on this a there was a knock on their compartment door and a boy poked his head in their compartment.

He was small and pudgy, with dark hair framing a round face. He shifted from foot to foot when he spoke.

"Sorry to bother you, but I've lost my toad, Trevor. You haven't by any chance seen him, have you?"

"I haven't" Hermione said while Amelia shook her head.

The poor boy looked as if he was about to cry, and Amelia, her heart going out to this shy boy, stood up to comfort him.

"We'll help you find him, if you'd like. We'll go around to all of the compartments and see if anyone's seen him."

The boy's face immediately lit up into a bright smile, "You mean it? Oh, thank you so much!"

Amelia knew she had made the right decision. This boy seemed really nice. Maybe they could be friends.

After some brief introductions, she and Hermione went to lots of the compartments asking for a toad, but everyone had the same reaction: a shake of the head and a mumbled apology.

As they were passing a compartment, Amelia reached out and grabbed Hermione's arm, pulling her back. "This is Harry Potter's compartment!" She said at Hermione's puzzled look.

"And?"

"I thought you said you wanted to meet him?" It was Amelia's turn to be confused.

"I did." She replied, "But I've thought about what you said. Not all books are true."

Amelia grinned widely at this. "I'm glad, but who knows, maybe he's seen Neville's toad."

Together they opened the compartment door and walked in.

Inside, the two boys were talking together. One of the boys, a boy with flaming red hair had his wand out and was pointing it at a big fat rat on his lap.

"Have either of you seen a toad? Neville's lost one."

They both looked up at Amelia's words.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it." The red-haired boy said crossly, seeming irritated at the interruption, but Hermione seemed more interested with the wand he had out.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." Hermione said with an excited smile, sitting down. Amelia followed her lead.

The red haired boy looked decidedly uncomfortable. "Er, all right then."

He cleared his throat

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

He waved his wand, but nothing happened, except for the rat to give a little snort in his sleep.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" Hermione asked a bit bossily, "Well it's not a very good one is it? I've tried a few spells and they've all worked for me. I was ever so pleased when I got my letter-"

Seeing the annoyed look on the red haired boy's face, Amelia elbowed Hermione and sent her a meaningful look. Hermione broke off, looking slightly confused.

"I'm Amelia Shire and this is Hermione Granger," Amelia said, smiling warmly. "What are your names?"

"Ron Weasley."

"Harry Potter."

Amelia saw Hermione visibly contain her excitement at his confirmation, and was grateful that she kept quiet.

"Who told you that spell, Ron?" Amelia asked, trying to sound understanding. She wanted to make friends with everyone. After all, it wouldn't do to have people hate her already.

"My brother." Ron muttered, his ears flaming red. Now she understood. Her parents had gone over the basic wizarding families with her, including the Weasleys. She knew that the Weasleys all had red hair, and that there were quite a lot of them, so she figured that this boy had a lot of siblings.

"Well, it's not a real spell, just a poem. He probably told it to you as a joke."

The boy blushed an even brighter red, while Hermione looked appalled.

"That's a terrible thing to do!" She said, shaking her head. Amelia gave her smile for her empathy, before standing up, brushing herself off.

"Well, Hermione and I just stopped in to see if you'd seen toad - mind you, tell Neville if you do see it. We'll be arriving shortly, so we'll go and get changed now. You might want to too."

They left the compartment together, closing the door behind them.

"Why did you elbow me?" Hermione queried, genuine confusion mixed with a little hurt in her eyes. Amelia immediately felt terrible. Hermione obviously didn't understand that she had been rude, only that Amelia had been mad at her.

"Well..." she paused, wondering exactly how to explain this to her. She didn't want to hurt her feelings, but if she didn't fix this now, no one would and she would have to learn it the hard way. "It just that you started talking about all your achievements in front of the boy, Ron, and he looked really uncomfortable. I don't think he had studied as much as you had and was a bit intimidated. That can drive people away sometimes. I'm sure you've experienced that before?"

Hermione didn't reply, but was strangely quiet for the next few minutes as they walked back to their compartment and changed into their robes. As they walked back out to find Neville, Hermione spoke in a small voice,

"Is it really annoying? Is that the other kids hate me?"

Amelia's heart went out to the girl. She had obviously had trouble finding friends when she was little, and had never known why. Someone being shunned for something they didn't even understand was something she could relate to, and it nearly brought tears to her eyes.

"They didn't hate you, you're too nice for that."

Hermione's face lit up at the compliment.

"But, well, I think that _is_ why they would push you away like that. It can be... intimidating and can almost sound like bragging when you do that. I know you're proud and want to prove yourself to the purebloods, but sometimes it's a bit too much." She looked at Hermione pleadingly, hoping she would understand.

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, "Thank you... thank you for telling me. You've given me a lot to think about." She said softly.

Amelia breathed a sigh of relief and gave Hermione a quick hug before turning and heading down the narrow hallway.

They spotted Neville a few moments later, and ran towards him.

"Any luck?" Hermione asked.

Neville shook his head sorrowfully.

"Maybe we could ask some of the older kids if they know any charms to find your toad?" Amelia suggested. "I know there's a summoning charm, but I can't do it yet."

Both of her friends thought this was a great idea. The next compartment contained a few seventh year Slytherins, so they knocked on the door. A large, troll-like girl came to the door and slammed it open.

"What do you want, firsties?"

Amelia swallowed. The girl was big and menacing, someone she didn't want to upset.

"Our friend Neville's lost his toad, and we were wondering if you might know any charms to get him back. You seem old enough to be able to."

The girl sneered at the three eleven-year-olds, "Of course I'm _able_ to." She spat, "but why would I help three little mudbloods?"

Hermione made a small noise of pretest at the word, obviously knowing what it meant. Amelia felt a surge of anger at the insult. She was fine with people insulting _her, _but insulting her friends was another matter entirely. She stood up little straighter.

"Mudbloods?" She scoffed, "I must have forgotten to introduce us. Yes Hermione is _muggleborn_, but she is the smartest person I've met in a long time. Once we get to Hogwarts she'll surely be at the top of her class, beating all of your silly _pure-blooded _children. It must be a lot of trouble keeping a family 'pure'. I imagine a lot of inbreeding goes on."

The Slytherin girl's face reddened in outrage, and her cronies got up to join in the conversation.

"Oh, yes," Hermione continued, an impish smirk beginning to form on her face, "And inbreeding can cause huge problems with the brain, making the offspring intellectually inferior to others."

Amelia nearly laughed at the look on the Slytherin's faces.

"It can also cause..._physical_ defects." Hermione continued, looking pointedly at the troll-like girl.

The Slytherin's wands were out in an instant. Amelia grabbed Hermione and Neville's arms and ran, pulling them with her. She instinctively dove to the side as a spell she didn't recognize sailed over her shoulder. She had been angry and had let her emotions get the better of her, and now who knew what the Slytherins would do to the three of them? As they ran, a thought occurred to her. Those kids weren't the only older kids on the train, if they could just find the prefects...

Soon, they ran into a dead end. They couldn't run anymore, and the Slytherins were closing in, the troll-faced girl at the head.

"I say we should teach these children their place," she sneered, aiming her wand at them.

Amelia cringed backwards.

"What's going on here?" An angry female voice called from behind the older kids.

They separated, revealing the three frightened first-years. Amelia could see a pretty girl with dark brown ringlets pushing through the seventh years. She was taller than some of them, and had an air of authority and an angry expression.

"Traumatizing the first years already? You should be ashamed of yourselves! Just wait until professor McGonagall hears about this!"

One of the Slytherin boys swaggered up to her, "Traumatizing them?" He said with a coy smile, "We were merely teaching them their place. They're filthy little mudbloods and they need to learn to respect their betters."

The seventh year gave a cry of outrage, and Amelia decided to pull the water works, just in case.

At Amelia's tearful face, the girl spun around to face the Slytherins, "Get out! All of you!"

They left grumbling, but looked oddly satisfied.

After they walked out, the girl turned back to the trio. "Don't mind the Slytherins, they're always out for trouble. Why don't you tell me what happened?"

Amelia sniffled, quelling her tears. "Well, Neville's lost his toad, and we thought that older kids would know a way we could find him, so we asked them. They were really mean about it, though, and Hermione may have made a little comment about how inbreeding affects the brain, and, well, they started chasing us."

The girl looked like she was trying to conceal her laughter, but helped them back to where their compartment was.

"Don't you worry, McGonagall will hear about this. I'm Madison, by the way. I'm head girl this year, which means that I can take points." She winked.

Amelia smiled at her. That would explain why the Slytherins seemed to listen to her. "Thanks for helping us. We didn't know..." She shook her head helplessly.

Madison smiled in understanding, "Of course not, you just got here! I would steer clear of them from now on, though." She warned. "Oh! And I almost forgot. Accio Neville's toad!" A second later, a big toad flew into her hand. "Here's your toad."

Neville's face split into a huge grin, "Trevor! Thank you so much!"

"Your welcome," She said, "Now, I'd better get back, we'll be arriving soon."

With that, she left.

"Well I'm glad she showed up." Hermione said abruptly, sitting down.

Amelia nodded in agreement while Neville just held his toad to his chest.

They all stared out the window at the darkening sky, still a bit shaken up, until a voice announced their arrival at Hogwarts.

They managed to push their way off the train and onto the platform. Amelia couldn't quite see Hogwarts yet, but she had heard it was beautiful. It was a cold night, so she was glad when a very large man told them where to go.

"First years! First years! Over here!"

As they made their way over to him, Amelia saw him mutter something to Harry Potter. So they had met before.

"Come on, follow me! Any more first years? Mind your step now, First years follow me!"

They followed the large man down a steep trail, Hermione in the lead while Amelia and Neville followed close behind, Neville holding his toad close.

"You'll get your first sight of Hogwarts in a second!" The man called back to them, "Just around the bend!"

Amelia let out a gasp of wonder as she saw the magnificent castle. It was huge and beautiful, on the other side of a massive lake. The lights twinkled and sparkled and towers and turrets rose into the sky.

The man ordered them into boats, and Hermione, Amelia and Neville sat together.

"Everyone in?" the man called, "Alright then, FORWARD!"

And so the tiny fleet of boats moved out across the glassy water. Was it her imagination, or did Amelia see a tentacle wave from the dark waters? She shook her head and looked back up at the castle. It truly was as beautiful as she imagined. She couldn't wait to tell Aisha everything. After ducking under a cliff, they sailed under the school into an underground harbor.

All of the new students clambered out of the boats and onto the rocky ground. Hermione caught Amelia as she stumbled over some rocks, before the group walked up a huge stone staircase leading to a colossal wooden door. Brimming with excitement, Amelia watched as the large man raised his hand and knocked three times.

**Thank you so much for reading! It means a lot when people read and review. Seriously. I live for the reviews. Please? Pretty please? With a cherry on top? **

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